Chuck vs Sarah's Heart
by dealan
Summary: Five ways Chuck makes Sarah's heart stop. Spoilers through 1x13.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Chuck vs Sarah's Heart

Author: dealan311

Rating: G

Characters/Pairings: Chuck/Sarah

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em; don't sue.

Summary: Five ways Chuck makes Sarah's heart stop.

Author's Note: Written for the Chuck/Sarah Valentine's Day challenge to the prompt of "heartbeats." Unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

1.

Chuck is the most open person she's ever met. He telegraphs his moods with his body language, and he has the worst poker face she's ever seen. When he's happy, his entire body can barely hold in his excitement. When he panics, the whole gamut of emotions, from terror to discomfort, flits across his face like a school of brightly colored fish. He can sometimes control the twitch of his eyebrow or smooth down a nervous smile, but his eyes always betray him. He has little to no control when it comes to reining in his emotions, and out in the field, it's a liability.

There are times, though, that his unguarded face stops Sarah in her tracks. There is an indescribable sense of awe she feels to see someone so open and exposed that way. And it's not like Chuck has never been hurt before. She can just as easily see the wounds he's garnered, collateral damage from other people's misguided attempts to protect him. But he puts himself out there anyway with an effortless trust in the world that is almost like hope, and Sarah can't help but be awestruck at that.

She already knows that the earnestness in his eyes is a better weapon against her than torture or truth serum, because he has already succeeded where very few have. She can count on one hand the number of times she's given up a piece of her real self to anyone, even if was only an inaudible whisper of a long-forgotten name. He makes her want to trust him and confess all her secrets, and that terrifies her.

He wears his heart on his sleeve and when he looks at her with his open, honest eyes, it takes her breath away.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

"Hello?"

"Sarah!"

"Chuck?" Sarah asked, immediately picking up on the panic in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"Sarah, I need your help! They're all over the place, and I don't know what to do!"

Grabbing her gun, Sarah kept her voice steady. "Okay, Chuck, calm down. Where are you?"

"Sar-"

"CHUCK!"

Sounds of gunshots echoed in the background before the line went dead.

Sarah's heart leaped to her throat and froze there for split second before she spurred into action. In a blur of movements, she rushed to her computer and pulled up the GPS signal from Chuck's watch. Pulling on her Kevlar, she punched in Casey's number and left a message with the address before tearing off in her car. As she sped to Chuck's location, her heart pounded with fear, adrenaline, and determination.

When she arrived at her destination, she surveyed the area quickly. The quiet suburban area was a confusing location to hold a hostage, but she had to be prepared for anything. Upon approaching the house with Chuck's signal, the faint sounds of muffled shouts confirmed that it was the right location.

Quietly, she snuck up to the back door with her gun drawn.

"Oh Sarah, thank god you're-"

Sarah whipped around to see Chuck with his hands tied together with…shoelaces?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Put the gun away," Chuck protested, hands up.

"Chuck! Are you okay?" she asked pulling him away from the door. Scanning his body for signs of injury and finding none, she pressed on. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, Bartowski," the unmistakably gruff voice of John Casey chimed in from behind. "What trouble did you get into now?"

"Nothing! No trouble," Chuck protested. "What are you doing here, Casey? I called Sarah because I was having some problems with Awesome's cousin and his friends."

He pointed at the window, through which they could see a group of boys yelling at the TV, the sounds of explosions blasting from the speakers.

Casey glared at Sarah and holster his gun. "You called me out here for kids playing video games?"

"He called up panicked, saying that 'they' were after him and got cut off to the sounds of gunshots," Sarah shot back with annoyance. "You'd have made the same call."

"Whatever, I'm out of here." Casey smirked at Chuck's tied up hands. "Good luck with the Babysitters Club."

"I'm really sorry, Sarah. I promised Awesome and Ellie I'd watch them and I thought they'd be fine just playing Call of Duty. Next thing I know, they've decided to play a real life version of it where they jump on top of me. They ended up grabbing my phone while I was calling you and tying me up."

Sarah gave Chuck a bewildered look, torn between wanting to strangle him and laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Eventually, the relief that he was fine won out, and she burst out laughing.

"Oh, nice. Thanks. Mock me while I'm down."

"I'm sorry, Chuck. It's just…" Sarah gasped, the tension and anger seeping out of her.

"Just help me out and untie me, okay? Please?"


	3. Chapter 3

3.

As it turned out, handling twelve year-old monsters was no different than dealing with the teenage boys who came to ogle her at Wienerlicious. All it took was the presence of a beautiful girl and suddenly they were on their best behavior. It did help that their respect for Chuck skyrocketed when Sarah introduced herself as his girlfriend. The fact that she was a better shot than most of them only made her more appealing. When the boys realized how good she was at strategizing, they were all scrambling to be on her team.

And Sarah had to admit, it was pretty fun. To be able to spend a Saturday afternoon playing video games and snacking on chips and pretzels filled her with an unexpected lightness. Every so often, she'd sneak a grin at Chuck, who'd return her smile with an impressed look at her latest kill.

She was so caught up in the normalcy of it all, she didn't even notice Awesome and Ellie walk in until the sound of Awesome's voice boomed in the doorway.

"Hey, guys! We're back and we brought pizza," he shouted, arms loaded with pizza boxes and bottles of Coke.

"Hey Captain!" a chorus greeted him back as Sarah stood up to help.

"Sarah?" Ellie said in surprise. "Hi! What are you doing here?"

"Chuck kind of panicked when Peter's friends decided to take him hostage, so he called me up to help."

"Oh Chuck," Ellie sighed ruefully. "That's really nice of you Sarah, but you didn't have to do that. I'm sorry you got saddled with Devon's cousin and his friends. They can be a little crazy."

"It's okay. Besides, I think he has it under control now."

They glanced over as Chuck shouted out excitedly along with the crowd of boys huddled around the TV.

"Well, you guys make a great team," she said.

"Thanks. Really, though, it was all Chuck. He's really great with kids. All I did was help calm him down."

Awesome shot Ellie a knowing look over Sarah's head. "The Chuckster is going to make an awesome dad," he declared.

Sarah smiled at the thought of Chuck with children. It wasn't until she realized she was picturing curly mopped kids with his goofy grin and her blue eyes that she caught herself. She sucked in a sharp breath, momentarily unnerved that she was picturing a future that she wasn't allowed to want.

"Yes," Sarah agreed quietly as she watched Chuck high-five Peter in victory. "Yes, he will."


	4. Chapter 4

4.

His tendency to disregard his own safety and jump headlong into danger makes her furious. He is difficult on missions because he lacks the discipline to accept that sometimes the only course of action is for him to stay put. She and Casey have to constantly rush to keep up with his ill thought-out improvisations, and at this point, it is with heavy resignation that she accepts that he won't just stay in the goddamn car. He just doesn't see how irreplaceable he is, even after she's threatened him with a gun to save his life twice now.

So far they've been lucky. But every time he winds up tied to a chair, every time she sees him dodge bullets he shouldn't need to be dodging, her heart skips a beat before the next burst of adrenaline pushes her forward.

And the longer she stays on this assignment, the more the fear of losing him grows. Nothing prepared her for the way the floor seemed to drop out from beneath her when she saw Chuck being rushed away by Agent Longshore. For the first time she understood with complete clarity why agents went rogue and betrayed everything they believed in. For now, she is glad that it didn't have to come to that, but the memory of cold metal of in her hand is enough of a reminder that she was ready to put it all on the line.

She can't lose him now, nor can she let him be taken away from all that he has. It's simply not an option. Chuck is irreplaceable and not just because he's the Intersect.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chuck watched Sarah mill around the Nerd Herd desk, waiting her turn. As he was finishing up with a customer, he debated in his head before reaching a decision, and when she finally approached, he pulled out a bag from under the counter.

"Hey Sarah, what's up?"

"Nothing much, just wondering if you have plans for Valentine's Day." Sarah leaned in closer. "We need to meet tonight for a briefing."

"Sure, I can hang out," he said. "We're friends after all, and friends can hang out on Valentine's Day."

Sarah rolled her eyes with a smile. "Okay, see you at eight, then"

"Oh wait, Sarah," Chuck called out. "Speaking of friends…"

Sarah turned back to see Chuck pulling out a brightly decorated box of cupcakes from the bag. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said.

"Chuck," she began hesitantly.

"Relax, it's not a big deal," he said with a placating tone. "It's just something I like to do. Even Morgan gets one."

Sarah grinned. "Oh. Well if Morgan gets one…."

"Yup," he smiled, handing her the box.

"Did you give one to Casey?"

Chuck shot her a look of mock horror. "Are you kidding me? He might shoot me."

"True," she laughed.

"Anyway, I just thought you should get one."

"Thank you, Chuck," she said with a sincere smile and walked away.

As she headed out of the Buy More, Morgan stepped in front of her and shot her an accusatory glance.

"You're hanging out with Chuck? On Valentine's Day?"

"Yes, Morgan," Sarah said exasperatedly.

"Wow. So are you guys, like, back together? Because I gotta tell you, I never know with you two. First you're dating, then you're just friends, next thing I know he was going to propose, but then that turned out to be Ellie, and- hey, are those Chuck's famous Valentine's Day cupcakes?"

Sarah shook her head in confusion. "What?"

Morgan looked on with a stunned face. "Huh. You got a Chuck Bartowski Valentine's Day package."

"They're just cupcakes."

"Uh-uh. Those, my friend, are not just any cupcakes. Those are Chuck's famous Valentine's Day cupcakes for family only. People KILL for a just one bite of those deliciously moist, heavenly chocolatey delicacies. The only ones to get them every year are Ellie and Awesome. And me, naturally, as his life partner."

"Well, we're friends and we used to date."

"Nope. Jill never got one, and it took me five years before he gave me a box." Morgan peered down at the box. "And you got- Hey!"

Just as abruptly as he appeared, Morgan brushed past her and made a beeline to the Nerd Herd Desk. "Chuck! Buddy!" Morgan called out, "How come Sarah gets six when I only get four?!"

As Morgan scurried away, Sarah looked down at the box in her hand. For someone as open as Chuck, the things he does hold back are all the more precious, and that he chooses to let her in so often makes Sarah's heart stop. When he reveals those sacred pieces of himself, they are windows into his life, drawing her into his world in a way that is both welcoming and terrifying. His words and gestures have a way of stilling her, because he does it when she least expects it, and it takes all her will power to keep holding back.

When she gets to the car, she pulls the box open and reads the innocuous messages laid out in candy hearts and icing.

They all say, "Be Mine," and Sarah has to turn away.


End file.
